Former RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi joins BJP

NEW DELHI: Former chief of Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) Sanjeev K Tripathi has joined BJP. He is the first spy chief in India to join political bandwagon.

Tripathi, a 1972-batch IPS topper, headed RAW between 2011 and 2012 under the Manmohan Singh government. He hails from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. Incidentally, his father-inlaw Gouri Shankar Bajpai was also the chief the R&AW during 1989-91.

Welcoming Tripathi into the party, BJP chief Rajnath Singh said, “He feels there should be a change in the country and wants to work for this change by joining the BJP.” He said Tripathi will help contribute in bringing about this change and the party will benefit from his experience.

Talking to ET, Tripathi described his decision to join politics and BJP as part of his desire to serve the society. “I am a nationalist. While I have served in RAW for four decades, I am also an Indian citizen. Since I retired in 2012, I have thinking of how to contribute to society and politics. And I reached a decision that this was the right time to join politics and come into public life.”